Drinking Locally, Travelling Globally

Huntington Beach Beer Co. – California (#207)

Occasionally, my job helps me out in my quest to find good beer and sends me off on business trips. Crazy, I know. Lately it hasn’t been too often, so it has been fairly manageable. This week I got to make a quick business trip down to Southern California with my coworkers Mylace and WineD. Unfortunately, Lush C was unable to join me.

HBBC- by DraughtE, 2010

After an afternoon flight we checked into our rooms at the Huntington Beach Hilton. We met up with WineD’s nephew SchuckShack, another beer geek, who came to join us for dinner. For some wild reason I was allowed to pick the dinner place, and I targeted the Huntington Beach Beer Company (HBBC). Located in downtown Huntington Beach, it was only a short walk from the hotel along the Pacific Coast Highway. To our delight, it was street fair night in Huntington Beach. Main Street was blocked off to vehicles and the street was full of people making their way through the vendors, food stands and street entertainers. Following SchuckShack, we quickly found our way to the brewery. (I thought I walked quickly to get find beer, but even I couldn’t keep up with this man on a mission)

HBBC is located in a great second story location right above Main St, only one block from the famous Huntington Beach Pier. The interior was mostly brick and it was dimly lit. It had a definite sports bar feel with lots of Flat Screen TVs throughout. Behind the long wrap around bar you could see the stainless steel tanks of the brewery. They had a great outdoor patio area that was perfect for people watching on the active street below. They serve typical pub food with lots of burgers, stone fired pizza, fish tacos, etc… Our service wasn’t so great, as our waitress seemed very cranky. For those with little ones, they are kid friendly.

I only had the time to try a couple of their beers. To be honest, I wasn’t super impressed. They weren’t bad, they were just pretty ho hum. The Brickshot Red didn’t look so red in the dim light outside. It had a very sweet aroma, almost like cool-aid. Luckily it didn’t taste like it smelled, leading me to believe the sweet smell came form the glass. The first taste was pretty good, as you could really taste the caramel roasted malts. The finish was kind of bitter, but not from the hops, as there was only a slight hop presence. It was a passable beer, but I don’t think I’d get it again.

Next up was the Golden Bear Brown Ale that is described by the brewery as, “dark with a malty lightly caramel flavor and a fruity ale aroma”. They nailed the color and the aroma. It had a nice roasted malt flavor, little to no hop flavor, and was a bit thin. It was smoother than the Brickshot Red and pretty well balanced. It didn’t have enough depth for my palate, but I’d still drink it again.

I had hoped to return to try their Irish Stout, but that just wasn’t in the cards, maybe next time.